


On Flaming Wings

by writingandimagination



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-19 06:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19969861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingandimagination/pseuds/writingandimagination
Summary: This is the story of a young prince and a witch. Listen closely as two storytellers tell a tale of betrayal, love, grief, and magic.





	On Flaming Wings

The sun is setting as the carriage moves through the countryside. The sky is lit up with colors of red, orange, and pink. The two cloaked men in the carriage are silent as the scenery is passing them by. The village of Rockglen, the village they are traveling to, is just outside Koria, the capital of the Kingdom of Etewen, so the ride isn't too long. One of the cloaked figures adjusts himself in his seat and looks at the other, who is watching the trees pass the carriage.

“Are we...are we sure this is a good story to tell?” the first man asks. His voice is soft and concerned. “I know it's…” he struggles to find the right word. “I know it’s important to His Majesty but the story is…”

“Patton.” The second man turns and looks at the first. The first man, Patton, stops talking and looks at the second man with big sad eyes. The second man says, “This story is...unsavory to many...and yes it is a hard story to tell. Especially since…” he stops talking, trying to find the right words. 

“Yeah. I know what you mean, Logan.” Patton gives him a small smile. “I just hope the kids will be okay with it.” 

Logan chuckles. “Those children will be fine, we have told some pretty gruesome stories in the past. Besides, All Hallows Eve is approaching and this is a bit of a ghost story.”

“Wow, way to dampen the mood, Logan.” Patton’s eyes brighten as he bites his lip to try and stop himself from snickering. “We have to get our spirits up for the kids.” Logan clenches his hands into fists and sighs.

“You and your play on words.” 

Patton beams. 

The carriage suddenly pulls to a halt and a coachman walks around to the door and opens it for the two men sitting inside. They both step out of the carriage and immediately hear a shout. The two looked in the direction of the sound and see a little girl running towards them. “Patton!!!!” she screams as she runs towards him and jumps into his arms. The force of the jump knocks Patton's hood off, as well as his glasses, as the little girl wraps her arms around Patton's neck, grabbing some of his brown curls in her hands. 

Logan smiles at the two of them pushing his hood off of his head. He then runs a hand through his dark brown hair for good measure and adjusts his wire-framed glasses before bending down and picking up Patton's glasses before he steps on them.

“Hey, Val! How’s my favorite Dragon Witch doing?” Patton says, pulling his head back to get a better look at the child in his arms. Val smiles and shakes her head.

“I’m not a Dragon Witch anymore, Patton! I’m a princess now.” 

“Oh, a princess? Well, forgive me, your highness.” Patton says as he places Val down on the ground and gives her a small bow. Val giggles and gives him a small curtsy in reply. 

Logan walks over to Patton and hands him his circular glasses as the two of them follow Val to the other villagers. Some of the adults are setting up seats and laying out blankets in the town square. Others are collecting and placing firewood in the fire pit. The children are running around the town square shouting at each other, lost in their imaginations. Patton and Logan look at each other with a soft smile, taking in the welcoming atmosphere of the village. The two have visited this village quite often. They were known as Storytellers. The Storytellers were implemented when the current king rose to power. He wanted to be able to connect with the outer villages and have ways to hear their concerns, but he couldn’t get to every single village. So, he requested that the bards and scholars of the castle venture out into the villages to entertain them and also bring back any criticisms, concerns, or needs that the villagers told the Storytellers. It brought about amazing communication between the palace and the commoners and the King feels more connected to his people. 

Logan walks over to the fire pit, which is being set up behind the seating area, and looks at the men and women place the last bit of firewood into the pit. 

“Ah, Logan!” says a young man, who looks to be in his thirties. He places down the logs of wood he was holding into the fire pit and walks over to Logan. “You and Patton always arrive right on time, how was your journey?” Logan smiles at the man and sticks out his hand. 

“The journey was wonderful Emile, thank you for asking. And of course we would be on time, we wouldn’t want to be late, that would just be rude.” Emile smiles and shakes Logan's hand. The two men pull away and Emile looks over the horizon. The sun was just peeking over the mountains, giving the sky a dark purple look with some streaks of pink. Stars are starting to appear, speckled across the sky. 

“Well, it looks like it is almost time for you and Patton to start. If you two are ready you can take your usual seats,” Emile gestures to two wooden chairs on the other side of the square. “We will light the fire and then you can get started.” Logan gives Emile a small nod and walks to the other end of the square to get ready. 

Patton, on the other hand, puts on his glasses and follows Val to the group of 5 children running around and playing some sort of game. 

“Guys, Patton is here!” 

The group of kids stop playing and turn to look at Patton. The kids smile and run up to Patton, screaming his name and stopping short in front of him. Patton squats down to the ground and smiles at them. 

“Hey, kiddos! How have you all been since the last time I saw you?” 

The kids start talking all at once. Patton can hear only bits and pieces of each conversation but he catches the term Hallows Eve being thrown around. He puts his hands up. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, kiddos, one at a time! Now, who can tell me what they are going to be for All Hallows Eve?” All 5 kids answer at once, completely ignoring Patton’s ‘one-at-a-time’ rule. 

“A witch!”

“A demon!” 

“A princess!” 

“A knight!” 

“King Roman!”

Patton chuckles. 

“You're going to protect yourself from demons as King Roman, Lee?”

“Well duh? He's super brave, super smart, and super strong, so no demon would ever want to snatch up his soul!” Patton smiles and his eyes flicker to the carriage they came in. He looks back at the kids 

“And you said you were going to be a witch, Mary Lee?” Mary Lee nods furiously. 

“Yeah! ‘Cause witches have powers and I could blast the demon away with magic!” Mary Lee reaches down and picks up a twig lying at her feet. She grips it like a wand and points it at Patton. Patton immediately raises his hands in surrender and laughs.

“Mary Lee, I think you would be able to scare off a demon without magic.” Mary Lee beams. Patton stands up straight and looks over his shoulder to see Logan walking over to their usual seats. 

“Well, kiddos, I will talk to the rest of you after the story, but it looks like we are getting ready to start.” 

Patton walks up next to Logan and takes his cloak off, setting it on the rock next to their seats. They are both wearing matching tunics but Pattons is a light blue whereas Logans is a dark blue. 

“So," Patton says with a sad smile on his face. "Mary Lee told me that she is going to be a witch for All Hallows Eve.” Logan chuckles. “How appropriate," Logan says as he adjusts his glasses. 

The two men suddenly feel a warmth from behind them and they turn around to see the village bonfire lit and rising in height. It wasn’t so high that it couldn’t be controlled, but it also wasn’t so small that it couldn't be seen. The two men stared at the fire, both wearing different expressions. Logan looks at the fire but his fists and jaw clenched tightly. Patton has a small flicker of fear cross his face, looking at the flames as if he is reliving a painful memory. Logan turns and sees Patton's face and reaches out squeeze his hand. 

“Hey,” he says, his voice much gentler than it had just been. Patton breaks out of his gaze and turns to look at Logan. 

“Sorry I just… this story…” 

“Is going to be a hard one to tell, I know Pat. But… we… we need to tell this story.” Patton nods. 

“I know Lo.” Patton takes a deep breath. “I know.” Logan gives Patton's hand one more reassuring squeeze and the two sit down. They watch as villagers get their children, friends and other family members seated and ready to listen to the story. Patton clears his throat and takes a look up to the sky. The moon is starting to rise; a full moon that bathes the areas not illuminated by the fire in an ethereal glow. 

“Greetings listeners,” Patton says raising his hands in front of himself. The chatter throughout the crowd was suddenly hushed. “We come tonight to bring you a story. A story of love, betrayal, magic, and grief.” 

“We ask that if the following content matter makes you queasy, anxious, or uncomfortable, that you leave the town square. We will be discussing topics of kidnapping, mentions, and discussions of death, supernatural beings, and abuse.” Logan pauses looking at the audience. A few people shift in their seats, but no one gets up to leave. “We ask that if at any point during the story you feel unsafe or uncomfortable that you leave and get to a place that you feel safe. We will not take any offense to it.” Logan takes a deep breath. “Everything that we are about to tell you, is true.” There is a murmur throughout the crowd. Patton and Logan usually tell myths and legends. They have never told a true story before. 

Patton and Logan take a look at the fire behind their audience, look at each other, and then back at the audience. They close their eyes, lower their heads, and take a deep breath. 

“Come now,” Patton says opening his eyes, snapping his head up. “Gather around. And listen to this sad tale.” 

“Come now,” Logan says mirroring Patton's actions. “Don’t forget to grab a handkerchief. It may be needed.” Logan has yet to understand why he needs to say this, clearly, the audience isn’t going to leave, go to their houses, get a handkerchief, and come back, but Patton had insisted that he say it because it added to the drama. He would never understand bards. 

“One time, in this very kingdom, there lived a young witch.” The crowd gasps. Patton couldn’t help but chuckle. They were telling a true story, about a witch, in this kingdom. Yeah, that’s got to be a shock for villagers who didn’t live in Koria. 

“Ah, yes,” says Logan as if he were remembering this story for the first time. “He came to love a young prince, or so we are told.” Again, this sends murmurs throughout the crowd. If this was a true story that involved a prince, in Etewen that can only mean one thing. One of the children Patton was talking to earlier raises his hand.

"Wait! Does that mean this story is about His Majesty or His Grace?" 

Logan's eyebrow twitches. As much as he loves the children, he hates to be interrupted. 

Patton smiles sadly. "This story is about His Majesty, King Roman, when he was still but a prince."

**Author's Note:**

> wowee this is the first fic I have written since 2014! I really hope you all like it! ^_^


End file.
